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Hi again, This is another snuff bottle that was appraised in 2007. Appraisal said it was glass with a coral top. It does have a coral top, I’m not so sure it is glass though. I think it is maybe a natural material such as maybe agate? It has the russet streak running through it and it appears to be carved, not formed. Any comments appreciated.
Tracy
First reaction to your photos is that there is nothing really special about the bottle ($50-100 value retail).
The photos are not clear enough to tell if this is agate or glass. You also do not show the bottom foot area, nor a close up of the carved handles (if carved).
Does your bottle float in water? The best snuff bottles will float because the hollowed out interior requires extensive work to remove the excess bottle material (stone/glass) in order to maximise the holding capacity of the bottle.
The bottle looks 20th c., but that does not mean it is not of good quality.... proper photos are needed for this.
@greeno107 Hi. Thanks for your comments. Much appreciated. Though I was happier with the “incorrect” appraisers analysis on these. I don’t think she was experienced in this field as with myself. I have attached a couple more photos.
@tracyc Geniunely sorry that I am the bearer of bad news, but it's best you hear the cold hard facts.
This one appears to be agate, not glass, but the quality of the carving and the absence of a defined foot rim (it's just flat) tells me that it, too, is a late 20th c. tourist piece... $10-20 retail.
If you have a group of bottles or other items... post a photo of everything. Others, and I, will chime in if anything is of further investigation.
@greeno107 Thanks again. I really appreciate the sharing of knowledge, however painful. Learned a great deal. I do have a few more items which I will post soon. Tracy
@tracyc What is the stopper spoon made from? Is the coral set in silver (is there a Chinese silver mark on the underside of the stopper?). This stopper form is typical of 19th c. Is the stopper cork? The matching of coral/silver & agate is a popular combination. The stopper alone may be worth selling by itself as people are screaming for good stoppers for their bottles that are lacking them.
The bottle looks like agate but glass imitations of agate isn't uncommon. I suggest getting a 10x loupe and seeing if you can see bubbles, if you can see bubbles its glass, if not it may be agate. Don't worry about the base not having a foot, a lot of agate bottles have similar rounded polished feet - HEREis an example without a foot ring and HERE is another, and finally HERE is one last one. My only problem with the bottle is mainly the lion masks which are extremely pronounced - this isn't right imho. Snuff bottles were a multi-faceted sensual pleasure devices - they have to not only look beautiful but they should also feel wonderful in the hand. So when masks are applied to the edges, they shouldn't block the smooth tactile experience of holding the bottle and moving it around in your hand - they should enhance it - which I don't believe these masks do. The carvers of these bottles were extremely aware of all these factors and balancing them with proper proportions was important. So, to have the masks so protruding indicates it is probably a later piece, I wont say its modern though but it probably wasn't made to be used.
D.
The stopper alone may be worth selling by itself as people are screaming for good stoppers for their bottles that are lacking them.
DannD, I know you said, 'may be worth selling,' but did you look at the stopper closely?
There is a fairly large black inclusion in the 'red coral', and rather than a stopper made mostly of coral with a fine silver rim, the stopper is mostly of metal (most likely nickel alloy) with a poorly colored piece of coral (presumably red coral).
Also, the examples you posted without foot rims are similar to pebble form snuff bottles...very rounded, with no exterior carving, and using high quality agate. Sort of comparing apples and oranges.
When a snuff bottle is carved with handles, it generally has a carved foot to better simulating a vase if it is of good quality. Like this...
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21821/lot/9239/
There is no evidence of quality here at any level.
@greeno107 Coral has dark dimple inclusions so I am not surprised about that. HERE is the a very similar stopper that is coral with a dark inclusion but gilt bronze rim. HERE is another example and HERE. I think the OP's stopper is older than the bottle itself, you can tell that it doesn't fit the bottle flush either. The color of the coral is also correct, it should be a salmon orange as you can see in the examples.
As far as handled snuff bottles needing a carved foot, I agree with you. As I mentioned in my post it is about the overall composition and any carver would take into consideration the proper form and proportions.
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